According to Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.), today is a day*akin to 9/11 and the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. No, really. "I want you to remember Aug. 1, 2012, the attack on our religious freedom," Kelly said at a press conference. "That is a day that will live in infamy, along with those other dates."

Kelly was ranting for the same reason I'm rejoicing—because today is "Free Birth Control Day" in the United States. Today is the day the new mandate requiring health insurers to provide contraception with no co-pay officially goes into effect. And I use the word "free" loosely, since it's not actually free—it's paid for through our premiums, just like other medical services. But once the rule is fully implemented, your out-of-pocket costs for contraception should fall to zero.

Some women won't start benefitting from the new rule until their new plan year begins, which varies by insurer. For me, it kicked in a few months ago, when my insurer agreed to cover the cost of an intrauterine device (IUD) after previously refusing to cover it.

Before the health care law, if I wanted to get an IUD, I would have had to pay about $1,200 upfront for the device and the insertion. I've been through pretty much every other type of contraception out there, and they just weren't working for a variety of reasons—some I am allergic to, some made me a crazy lady, and others came with a steep monthly price. Then there was the fact that I am just not very good at taking a pill every day at the same time, which is crucial if your birth control is going to actually control birth. And I'm not the only American woman who sucks at taking birth control.

Enter the IUD. Like many women, it was the right choice for me. But although it's cheaper in the long term because it's good for up to five years, I didn't really have $1,200 laying around to cover it upfront. This is true for a lot of women, according to Dr. Nancy Stanwood, an obstetrician/gynecologist with the Yale School of Medicine and a board member of Physicians for Reproductive Choice and Health. "I have seen so many women want to choose a method of contraception but have it out of reach financially," Stanwood says. "Instead of women looking at their medical needs and the needs of their family, they had to instead look in their pocketbook."

Here's an infographic from the National Women's Law Center illustrating how I, and many women felt before the birth control mandate:

<span style="color: #990000"> Repiglicans want to take us back to women being nothing but chattel, barefoot and pregnant, without any personal rights, so don't tell me they are not crazy as **** and gross misogynists as well!

G. </span>

Gayle in MD

08-03-2012, 08:34 AM

Shhhhh...don't wake up the sheep! /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif

llotter

08-03-2012, 11:28 AM

Hopefully, when the Republicans take over Congress and the WH, they'll have the sense to get the fed. gov. out of the healthcare business altogether. At that point, people can pay for what they want, thus motivating the kind of work ethic that made this country great.

Gayle in MD

08-03-2012, 11:50 AM

Blah, Blah Blah....

zzzzzzzzzzzzzz /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/tired.gif

LWW

08-03-2012, 03:41 PM

It's a shame that some "journalists" continue to run false flags up the pole ... and even worse that they have an audience who will parrot the headline, never realizing that the body of the story proves the headline to be a lie.